A. A person shall not make a motion to modify a legal decision-making or parenting
time decree earlier than one year after its date, unless the court permits it to be made
on the basis of affidavits that there is reason to believe the child's present
environment may seriously endanger the child's physical, mental, moral or emotional
health. At any time after a joint legal decision-making order is entered, a parent may
petition the court for modification of the order on the basis of evidence that domestic
violence involving a violation of section 13-1201 or 13-1204, spousal abuse or child
abuse occurred since the entry of the joint legal decision-making order. Six months
after a joint legal decision-making order is entered, a parent may petition the court for
modification of the order based on the failure of the other parent to comply with the
provisions of the order. A motion or petition to modify an order shall meet the
requirements of this section. Except as otherwise provided in this section, if a parent
is a member of the United States armed forces, the court shall consider the terms of that
parent's military family care plan to determine what is in the child's best interest
during that parent's military deployment.

B. If the parent with whom the parent's child resides a majority of the time
receives temporary duty, deployment, activation or mobilization orders from the United
States military that involve moving a substantial distance away from the parent's
residence a court shall not enter a final order modifying parental rights and
responsibilities and parent-child contact in an existing order until ninety days after
the deployment ends, unless a modification is agreed to by the deploying parent.

C. The court shall not consider a parent's absence caused by deployment or
mobilization or the potential for future deployment or mobilization as the sole factor
supporting a real, substantial and unanticipated change in circumstances pursuant to this
section.

D. On motion of a deploying or nondeploying, mobilizing or absent military parent,
the court, after a hearing, shall enter a temporary order modifying parental rights and
responsibilities or parent-child contact during the period of deployment or mobilization
if:

1. A military parent who has legal decision-making or parenting time pursuant to an
existing court order has received notice from military leadership that the military
parent will deploy or mobilize in the near future.

2. The deployment or mobilization would have a material effect on the military
parent's ability to exercise parental rights and responsibilities or parent-child
contact.

E. On motion of a deploying parent, if reasonable advance notice is given and good
cause is shown, the court shall allow that parent to present testimony and evidence by
electronic means with respect to parenting time or parent-child contact matters
instituted pursuant to this section if the deployment of that parent has a material
effect on that parent's ability to appear in person at a regularly scheduled hearing.
For the purposes of this subsection, "electronic means" includes communication by
telephone or video teleconference.

F. The court shall hear motions for modification because of deployment as
expeditiously as possible.

G. If a military parent receives military temporary duty, deployment, activation or
mobilization orders that involve moving a substantial distance away from the military
parent's residence or that otherwise have a material effect on the military parent's
ability to exercise parenting time, at the request of the military parent, for the
duration of the military parent's absence the court may delegate the military parent's
parenting time, or a portion of that time, to a child's family member, including a
stepparent, or to another person who is not the child's parent but who has a close and
substantial relationship to the minor child, if the court determines that is in the
child's best interest. The court shall not allow the delegation of parenting time to a
person who would be subject to limitations on parenting time. The parties shall attempt
to resolve disputes regarding delegation of parenting time through the dispute resolution
process specified in their parenting plan, unless excused by the court for good cause
shown. A court order pursuant to this subsection does not establish separate rights to
parenting time for a person other than a parent.

H. All temporary modification orders pursuant to this section shall include a
specific transition schedule to facilitate a return to the predeployment order within ten
days after the deployment ends, taking into consideration the child's best interests.

I. A decree or order that a court enters in contemplation of or during the military
deployment of a parent outside of the continental United States shall specifically
reference the deployment and include provisions governing the legal decision-making or
parenting time arrangements, or both, of the minor child after the deployment ends.
Either parent may file a petition with the court after the deployment ends to modify the
decree or order, in compliance with subsection L of this section. The court shall hold a
hearing or conference on the petition within thirty days after the petition is filed.

J. The court may modify an order granting or denying parenting time rights whenever
modification would serve the best interest of the child, but the court shall not restrict
a parent's parenting time rights unless it finds that the parenting time would endanger
seriously the child's physical, mental, moral or emotional health.

K. If after a legal decision-making or parenting time order is in effect one of the
parents is charged with a dangerous crime against children as defined in section 13-705,
child molestation as defined in section 13-1410 or an act of domestic violence as
prescribed in section 13-3601 in which the victim is a minor, the other parent may
petition the court for an expedited hearing. Pending the expedited hearing, the court may
suspend parenting time or change legal decision-making ex parte.

L. To modify any type of legal decision-making or parenting time order a person
shall submit an affidavit or verified petition setting forth detailed facts supporting
the requested modification and shall give notice, together with a copy of the affidavit
or verified petition, to other parties to the proceeding, who may file opposing
affidavits. The court shall deny the motion unless it finds that adequate cause for
hearing the motion is established by the pleadings, in which case it shall set a date for
hearing on why the requested modification should not be granted.

M. The court shall assess attorney fees and costs against a party seeking
modification if the court finds that the modification action is vexatious and constitutes
harassment.

N. Subsection L of this section does not apply if the requested relief is for the
modification or clarification of parenting time and not for a change of legal
decision-making.